Fire badly damages Centralia mobile home

CENTRALIA — Flames damaged almost half of a mobile home south of Centralia on Wednesday morning.

A homeowner at 15301 Route Z North returned home from lunch to find smoke coming from the mobile home. The homeowner didn't see any flames, but called the fire department after removing the family pets. There was no one else inside the home, and there were no injuries reported, said Doug Westhoff, assistant chief with the Boone County Fire Protection District.

Six fire trucks, an ambulance and about 20 firefighters were sent to the scene at 11:46 a.m. Firefighters entered the mobile home and found a small fire in the bathroom utility area near the heater. They were able to get the fire under control in about 10 minutes, Westhoff said.

There was significant fire damage to about 50 percent of the home and extensive smoke damage throughout, Westhoff said.

An investigation will be done to determine a more specific cause of the flames.